The Home Cook: Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Yeast.

There are very few food that can leave me completely stymied, but yeast is one of them. I have no natural "cooking sense" when it comes to this micro-organism. Maybe it's because it's living and there for more unpredictable than say...lard, I don't know but I do know that gererally speaking yeast+me=bad times en mi cocina. However, there is one yeast based food that I've come to have moderate sucess with over the years...cinnamon rolls. A breakfast staple from my grandma's house, it is the one bread food I know just enough about to make work 7-8 times out of 10. The family recipe is a potato based recipe, going back to the years our genes spent making a living in the Bohemian provinces of Czechoslovakia. The taste given to the breads from the starchy potato water is a probably an aquired taste, but to me it just what homemade breads are supposed to taste like. Unfortunately the extra starch leaves the bread heavy, dense and crumbly; sorely in need of sugar, butter and any other sweetening agent you can lay your hands on.

So after spending the time to truly learn the recipe I grew up with, I moved on in a quest to find a soft gooey mass of sweetness. I like my rolls more like cinnabon than cinnaloaves. In the past three or so years I've tried LOTS of recipes. Lots. At least 6...which for someone with such a poor personal history with yeast is A LOT. And besides learning that Saturn and Jupiter must be properly aligned for all to go well, I've also learned I'm not a big fan of kneading. So when Alton Brown did his Cinnamon Bun episode, complete with Kitchen Aid Mixer Kneading 101, I was sold. I trugged to the Food Network site, found the recipe and promptly forgot about it. Then last week Good Eats re-aired the fateful Cinnamon Bun episode and I promised myself I'd give the recipe a try over the weekend. Just as soon as I found Instant Yeast. Which I never did, but despite the set-back I made the recipe and was met with knead free success.

It's a good sweet roll recipe that nets a nice soft bun. Since I had to use Active Yeast instead of Instant Yeast (which is different from Rapid Rise Yeast and should not be used), I should have proofed it by warming the yeast in the buttermilk. But I didn't realize that until I was on my second rise. The recipe still worked out, though I think the rolls would have been even softer had I not overlooked that step. I am also not overly fond of the icing, I like a heavy cream cheese frosting that'g going to stay put even when butter is applied. Tim however really likes the thinner stuff that accompanies the orginal recipe. I'd recommend reflecting on which you prefer and go from there BEFORE you make the rolls. If like me, you enjoy a heavier frosting just look up Cream Cheese frosting in any general cookbook. (The Better Homes & Garden's Cookbook Recipe is yummy.)

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe Courtesy Good Eats, Food Network

Dough:
4 large Egg Yolks, room temperature
1 large Whole Egg, room temperature
2 ounces Sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
3 ounces Unsalted Butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
6 ounces Buttermilk, room temperature
20 ounces All-Purpose Flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting

1 package Instant Dry Yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:
8 ounces Light Brown Sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
Pinch salt 3/4-ounce Unsalted Butter, melted; approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons

Icing:
2 1/2 ounces Cream Cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
3 tablespoons Milk
5 1/2 ounces Powdered Sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.